Synthetic fabrics, made from chemically manipulated petrochemicals, are some of the most toxic fabrications on Earth.

Last week we discussed the pros and cons of biobased synthetic textiles like Tencel, Modal and other cellulose-based fabrics. The production process of these materials is similar to the production oil-based or petrochemical textiles such as nylon, polyester, acrylic and spandex, which are made from natural gas or oil. Developed during the second half of the last century, these synthetic materials have revolutionized several industries, and been widely adopted in the fashion industry as a low-cost material that allows brands to churn out a variety of colorful apparel at low prices. Petrochemical textiles are a heavily invested area of research, allowing companies to produce highly engineered fabrics that perform better than their natural counterparts. But at what cost?

Petrochemical textile materials are immensely toxic and pollutive to the environment, as they require significant energy, water and chemicals to produce. If the numerous oil spills, waterway contaminations and fracking dangers aren’t making the risks and damage of using these raw materials obvious, I’m not sure what will. Not only does the production of these materials leach waste and toxic substances into our waterways, soil beds, groundwater and landfills, they also (surprised?) can possibly leach into our skin when we wear them. So why do we use them?

Our demand for synthetic textiles has grown by 30 percent in the last 13 years; retailers that feed the fast fashion phenomenon use these low-cost fabrics. As it stands, it is also far less costly to make a shirt from polyester than it is out of cotton, not to mention organic cotton. These fabrics are also easy to manipulate on a microscopic level, resulting in engineered textiles that we have become so accustomed to as consumers. The development of microfibers has allowed textile producers to spin very fine fibers into soft fabrics with engineered moisture-wicking properties. But how can an antibacterial workout top be a good thing if over 100 toxic chemicals were used during the production of that top?

We’ve outlined some of the applications for and problems with the oil-based textiles that we still (because of that bizarre concept of profit over planet) continue to use.

Nylon

Nylon is water repellent, and so ideal for swimsuits, hosiery and lightweight, weatherproof jackets. Nylon is extremely resilient and multi-purpose, as it can be found in anything from underwear to rock climbing rope. However, the production of nylon creates nitrous oxide, which is a greenhouse gas 310 times more polluting than carbon dioxide.

Polyester

Polyester has a bad reputation, although it has long term success in the fabric industry (think 70s leisure suits). The ethylene based material is very strong, resists stretching and shrinking, and dries within a matter of minutes. It’s also wrinkle and abrasion resistant, retains pleats and creases, and repels water. But polyester manufacturing uses plenty of water and energy, and a highly toxic substance called antimony (which most countries other than the US and China have outlawed) as a catalyst.

Acrylic

Acrylic has a similar texture as wool, and so boomed onto the market in the 1960s as it takes dyes beautifully, is colorfast, and unlike wool, resists shrinking. However, this ‘fake wool’ doesn’t provide the same warmth as the real thing, and is essentially a polycrylonitrile, which may be carcinogenic.

Spandex

Spandex was invented in 1959 to give fabric a stretch quality unlike anything that had been seen before in textiles. The production of spandex is rather costly as it is a time consuming and energy intensive process that involves “cracking” petroleum molecules into propylene and ethylene gases before actually creating the fiber. Spandex is often blended with other fibers such as wool and cotton, but tends to break down over time.

The substances used to manipulate and characterize these textiles are highly toxic, which is also an issue with biobased synthetics. Anti-cling, wrinkle-free, waterproof and fire-retardant materials have all been treated with highly toxic chemicals, most often formaldehyde. Even several natural fibers like cotton and wool are treated with these substances, meaning that the textile industry is saturated with them. A major drawback to petrochemical textiles is their non-biodegradibility, meaning that their negative effects continue to affect the Earth even after they have been discarded.

Although finding clean clothing, home textiles and accessories might seem impossible, the labels on products can tell us a lot. Unfortunately the textile supply chain is currently so disjointed that it is often hard to know exactly how a fabric was produced. Look for labels on clothing and home textiles and check for different certification labels to find out how clean the fabric is. Better yet, look for locally produced fabrics when you can. The Fibershed Project in Marin County, CA is a wonderful example and resource for learning how a textile is made from plant or animal to wearable product.

Photo Credit: www.rowenawaack.com

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“When you watch the commercials you can tell they’re made of cheap stuff,” says my astute oldest daughter about the fleece blanket sensation known as the Snuggieâ„¢. “The people wearing them are just so cheesy, like the man in the leopard one who says he’s so glad he found a fun designer print that suits his personality.”

Snuggie consumers proudly wear the Made-in-China label on their sleeves, not considering the synthetic polyester fabric they’re breathing in all the while they’re adjusting their thermostats in the thin, robe-like throws. I find they leave me as cold as those stinky, plastic sealed airline blankets gifted to us on flights.

I’m not the only one with a chilly view of the blankets. There’s the YouTube ad that parodies by Snuggieâ„¢ haters, such as one done in the mockumentary format of The Office in which an employer forces her people to wear the wraps at work, despite their protests. A piece in Time shares one young man’s review: “It’s a bathrobe. That is really long. That you wear backwards.”

So far, five million and counting have bought into the ads depicting gray-haired ladies knitting on the sofa, moms reading on the sofa, great aunts chatting away on the phone on the sofa. One thing is clear: Folks just don’t get off that sofa when they’re folded into a Snuggie. Call it a straight jacket for polluted planet!

Allstar Products Group, Inc., the maker of the blanket, set up a Facebook Fan page and attracted 5,000 users in addition to an official online fan club site. That’s a lot of fleece.

Among the enthusiastic takers is my 10-year-old daughter, who went behind her green-leaning parents to ask a relative to buy her one for her birthday in the original royal blue.

She’s a big infomercial hound, my youngest, often repeating lines from the ads when we are out buying necessities for the house. “Mom, you should get the Ped Egg because it’s like having a professional spa treatment right in your own home,” she advises.

She had a fever over the weekend and taking away that Snuggie was harder than wrestling a cheese stick away from my pug. Pugs have little teeth, but they’ll take you down over cheese, and so will Lauren over a cheesy blanket.

“My friend Simon had one and I thought it would be warm for camp because I sleep right near the window,” says my daughter. “I also like it when I’m sick cause it makes me feel all snuggie.”

We don’t buy polyester bedding and we don’t want our kid dragging around a toxic security blanket. Yet burning it could create a micro Valdez. Which begs the question, how do you safely dispose of Mr. Snuggieâ„¢?

Because of the questionable chemicals in the fiber, I find it ironic how American Allstar Group’s publicity machine has tied in “the country’s favorite blanket with sleeves” with one of the country’s most pernicious diseases – breast cancer.

In May, they introduced the limited edition pink blanket for breast cancer. The company says it will donate $50,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation on behalf of the product.

I suppose the irony is that many of the questions posed to researchers at Cancer.Org relate to the link between toxins in textiles and breast cancer. One reader was wondering about her mother who had he worked at a chain of stores in which she cut cloth materials containing the kind of junk that is used to produce my daughter’s favorite throw.

If the Snuggie is such a mega hit and has made tons of dough for Allstar, why hasn’t an organic textile company made their own version of a healthy fleece blanket with sleeves?

“The Snuggie is a safe product, as it is approved and certified by all relevant industry standards,” I’m told by Anne Flynn, Director of Marketing at Allstar. “Snuggie is currently in the process of evaluating other materials, including natural, eco-friendly options, to meet consumer needs.”

Until we meet the eco Snuggie, the only newly unveiled additions introduced for the coming winter are styles for kids, dogs, a more plush version of the current design, and black and purple tie-dye fashions for the holidays.

I did find a few greener options, such as a Bear Adventure Warm Me Up made of recycled synthetics from Blankets and More (being introduced November 1st), and a cozy kimono for the preemie baby. There’s also the 85% recycled materials Peekaru, shown above (top left), for mom and baby.

Otherwise, the market is wide open for a healthier blanket with sleeves. My friends at Chia better get right on it!

This is the latest installment in Luanne’s column, Life in the Green Lane.

Images: Bread and Sham, All Left Turns, SFGate, MomLogic, Snuggieâ„¢ Fan Club

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Sit on the grass; look out at the trees; wake up in the field; float on the water.

These four frolics in nature are woven into the fabric of the vintage French furniture reclaimed by Chair Couture, a delightful contemporary source that seeks to make stuffy, highbrow seating more down to earth.

In salvaging original French antiques for her quirky collection, owner Margaret Elman carefully selects fabrics that fits the mode. She says the recycled polyester or organic cotton used is derived from photographs of nature.

It’s all designed to bring the outdoors inside with splashy textiles in vivid shades that really grow on you.

I remember when a friend first spied the ocean fabric and flipped, telling me it was like nothing she had seen before. She was able to locate the fabric by the yard.

If you purchase one of the reconfigured antiques, such as the Constance chaise covered in a water print (above), the price might hit you like a wave. It’s $15,000. The David bergère chair covered in grassy cloth (at top) is $7,000 and the 1930s carved bed in the dandelion print(below)  is $13,000.

The price tags might be out of reach, but if you have the means, these pieces emerge as works of art that make a huge statement.

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“Can you do a diatribe on dry-clean-only labels?” asked my editor friend, Tam, citing the numerous times she threw caution to the wind and hand washed a garment despite the dry-clean-only instructions.

Yes, Tam, we can do that. We at EcoSalon are here to please the frugal green crowd looking for ways to avoid high cleaning costs, as well as the toxic detergents regularly used by conventional cleaning companies.

For some answers, I turned to Karl Huie of Eco Dry Cleaners in the San Francisco Bay Area which goes by the motto: “We are not business people capitalizing on the green movement, we are an established dry cleaner changing an industry.” Huie won the 2009 Francine Levien Activist award, which recognized him for taking a leadership role in promoting the health of the community.

Huie’s parents first opened a cleaners in 1969 which he and other family members converted into an eco company in 2007 with stores in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of the city and across the Bay in Sausalito, Calif. (Marin’s first and only certified green cleaners). The Pacific Heights Cleaners is seen as a demonstration site for a statewide program.

They are what’s considered a wet cleaners, which means they use a water-based solution made of natural soaps and conditioners; and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Cleaning, which uses compressed liquid CO2 with detergents.

In other words, they really know how to handle wet clothes, which according to Huie, is the criteria for cleaning your own garments without professional help.

Luanne: Which fabrics are safest for DIY cleaning at home?

Karl: I think polyester and nylon are probably the safest, including recycled polyester from PET bottles, because the plastic in it will hold everything together. Bamboo is an organic product that cleans very nicely and is easily accessible if handled correctly, but you have to be careful not to put too much agitation to the rayon because that will cause it to break or get fuzzy.

Luanne: What about cotton fabrics? You would think you could clean those yourself.

Karl: The risk is shrinkage. That can happen with leather, too, when people try to clean it themselves. The other day a customer brought in a leather jacket they shrunk wanting to know if I could stretch it back out. I also get customers bringing in cotton clothes with stains they tried to remove. They bring them in still wet in plastic bags. You have to have some experience with material and know how to handle it when it is wet.

Luanne: I’m always surprised when I hear friends wash their own sweaters. I’m always afraid the texture will get ruined.

Karl: Generally, silks and cashmeres are not easy to handle. It doesn’t so much have to do with getting them wet but the pH balance of the water and the detergent you use. The wrong balance can alter and shrink the wool and strip off oils  that can cause the texture to change.

Luanne: I never go near any garments with hand beading or special stones but people question why they can’t be hand washed with care. What’s the best thing to do if you aren’t sure?

Karl: Any time not sure how to handle something it is best go get advice from a pro. If you are a regular customer of mine I’m happy to tell you how to take care of it. All the time people bring in items for me to fix after the damage is done.

For some great tips on hand washing or dealing with stains, such as salad dressing spills or chocolate messes, you can go to Karl’s blog, Your Green Dry Cleaner. On the site is a section about cleaning items yourself.

Karl advises:

“Just because something is washable doesn’t mean that’s the best way to handle it. If you’ve got good quality jeans, sweaters, linens, bedding, etc. you want to protect them. Dry cleaning your fine things extends their longevity, keeps color from fading and prevents shrinkage. Plus you get a professional’s skills in stain removal. Talk to your dry cleaner to determine the best way to protect and preserve all your fine things.”

Image: sfllaw

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